


If I Proposed To You

by RedfieldandNivans



Series: Dog Tags [6]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), NivanField - Fandom
Genre: Chris 'proposes' to Piers, Chris doesn't want to press the issue, Dog Tags, Don't know how long this will be..., Fluffy Stuff!, House Hunting, M/M, Not exactly what you'd expect, One-shot prompt idea, Piers doesn't know what to say, Piers is living with Chris on base, Post Piers recovery, Post RE6, Proposal prompt from a Follower, Sir Ruffington the dog is mentioned in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-02-21 23:41:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2486573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedfieldandNivans/pseuds/RedfieldandNivans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris wants to buy a house with his partner, but Piers needs to know they're in it for the long haul before he agrees to anything. A cute short full of Nivanfield fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Question

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Peterwinsatgym](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Peterwinsatgym), [PuppyPiers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuppyPiers/gifts).



> A fic prompt from one of our Followers on Tumblr "Peterwinsatgym".
> 
> "Could you maybe write a fic of Chris proposing to Piers, and then after Chris proposes have Piers propose the next day after the two get it on detailed, then maybe they get it on again please?"
> 
> Okay here we go...

“What did you bring home for me?”

The Captain had been away for a few days to attend a bi annual Strategic Alliance & Recruitment meeting in Atlanta organized by the B.S.A.A. and it’s various international allies and now that he was home again Piers couldn’t wait to pester him about the surprise he had been promised.

“Did I say I got you something?” Chris feigned innocence as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped the lid with his thumb like it was a bottle of champagne. Piers watched the cap fly carelessly and land somewhere near the hall, “You did. You said you had something for me when you got back. The suspense has been killing me.”

Chris moved in close to him and took a swig from the bottle, “Hmm. I don’t recall…” One big hand found purchase at the younger man’s waist. Secrets got under Piers’ skin and Chris could sense his mild agitation at being kept in the dark.

Piers tugged him closer still, his fingers pulling at the bigger man’s belt loops until the two of them were hip to hip. He made a point of stepping on the older man’s cold toes with his own and used Chris’ weight to keep himself balanced. “Well at _your age_ I don’t doubt it…” He teased.

Chris pretended to be offended by that. “Hey, forty isn’t old. I have years of youth ahead of—.” Piers silenced him with a brief but firm kiss. “I missed you.” He whispered, ignoring the older man’s rebuttal.

Chris smiled at that, taking the hint. “It’s in my back pocket.”

Piers turned him around and pulled a rolled up booklet from his jeans. He flattened it as best he could and read the cover silently with a confused expression that had Chris turning around to laugh.

“Listings?”

“I want to buy a house.”

The confused look remained. “Okay….”

“I want to a buy a house _with you._ ”

Piers looked skeptical, “To sublet? Chris, I’m no landlord—“

Chris’ laugh was warm in the face of his partner’s misunderstanding. He put his beer down on the island counter and held his partner by the rim of his pants. “I want to buy a house _for us_.” He clarified.

Piers studied him with unconvinced hazel eyes. “To _live_ in?” He really didn’t believe what he was hearing despite how clearly the man in front of him was saying the words.

Chris was patient with him, “To live in. You and me. Together under one brand new roof. That is if you and Ruff still want to live with me.” He released his hold on Piers’ pants and the marksman blinked at the loss of contact, still processing his proposal.

“…Piers?”

Piers pulled a stool from its place beneath the island and sat down on it, his eyes on the little book of properties for sale. “Yeah.” He looked briefly up at Chris and back to the listings. He was hesitant to look at the first page and Chris struggled to read the younger man’s reaction as a positive one. He hadn’t planned much farther than this, to be honest and Piers’ silence was weighing heavily on his heart.

“Buying a house is a big deal, Chris.” Piers reminded him finally.

Chris slid warm hands over his shoulders, “I know. But we need the space. Ruff needs a real backyard, not some dirt driveway with his doghouse next to a tree. I could use a bigger office, and you…” his deep voice trailed off as he leaned down to hug the one sitting from behind, “You could use some freedom. I’ve lived on military bases most of my life; it eats away at you to be this close to your work all the time.” He kissed the side of Piers’ soft head of hair.

Piers leaned back into the hug, setting down the booklet but not taking his eyes off of it. He rubbed the arm holding him thoughtfully. Chris rested his chin atop his partner’s head, waiting patiently for him to think it over. “Just think about it, alright?”

Piers nodded, “Okay.”

 

oOo

 

The next two days were rough.

Chris still hadn’t gotten an answer out of Piers and he wasn’t about to bring it up again. The last thing he wanted was to pressure Piers into doing anything he wasn’t okay with, but the more Chris thought about it the more he realized just how serious he was about living alone with his partner in a more permanent location. If he was completely honest with himself Chris wanted Piers to be happy as much as he wanted to distance himself from the job. He knew the sniper wouldn’t hear of his Captain retiring from the B.S.A.A. anytime soon and owning their own place some distance away from HQ seemed like a realistic way to escape some of the pressures that came with being counter-terrorism.

Once Piers was fully healed and Chris released from whatever it was keeping him suspended from active duty they would be on call again, he knew. They would have to up and leave at a moment’s notice for another round of fighting monsters, death and chaos and it would chip away at them again and again until their luck eventually ran out and they broke down for good. A little bit of peace and solid ground was looking real good right now. It was funny how his priorities had changed in the last year. _Chris Redfield, the highest volume mission volunteer in the North America branch looking to lay down some roots._ Jill would flip her lid if she caught wind of what he’d been considering these past few days.

Chris dropped his pen and rubbed a hand over his face. There was a neat stack of reports and exercise proposals awaiting his approval that he just couldn’t concentrate on right now. His thoughts kept returning to Piers’ reaction and he couldn’t help but wonder if he had freaked the younger man out with his sudden proposal. The fact that Piers hadn’t said _anything_ about it was strange in itself. If something was bothering the ace it was second nature for him to bring it up for discussion. So why all this silence now…?


	2. The Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last (?) part of this fic prompt from a Tumblr Follower of ours.
> 
> Chris makes a sweet discovery while at work, while Piers stresses unnecessarily over his decision and Chris' reaction to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this was a prompt. A prompt that requested a lot of Chris and Piers "getting it on" so to speak and...well...they don't seem to want to do that. You know when your characters do what they want? Yeah. That happened here and I think I might leave it just as it is: 
> 
> A sweet Nivanfield proposal.

“When did you tie the knot, Cap?” 

Flight Lieutenant Joshua Murder, the newest transfer pilot for Alpha Team was quick to notice things. Little things like the appearance of a shiny new trinket hanging from his Captain’s ID chain.

Chris paused in passing at the unexpected question, his morning coffee in hand.

“Are you talking to me?”

Josh averted his gaze, not wanting to cause his new superior any grief, “I-I, uh, was just noticing your ring, Captain,” the younger soldier pointed out.

“My--?” The Captain followed his man’s gaze to his chest. Sure enough, a gold ring hung suspended from the chain around his neck. The circlet rested against his dog tags and Chris held it up, noticing it for the first time with wide eyes.

“You haven’t been to Vegas recently, have you?” The new guy joked good-naturedly. Everyone knew Vegas was the one place you could get hitched without remembering having done so.

Chris didn’t quite seem to hear him. He was busy trying to read the engraved inscription inside the tiny hoop. _Nivanfield_ it read.

“Sir? Is everything okay?”

Chris tucked the chain into his shirt and nodded to the Lieutenant absentmindedly, leaving the new transfer in favor of the privacy of his office down the hall.

“What’s up with him?”

Another voice piped up as Lieutenant Krowes finished filling his cup at the coffee machine. He couldn’t help but overhear their odd exchange from the other side of the room.

The blond pilot sat down tentatively, mulling over the Captain’s strange reaction. “I think someone just proposed to him…”

“No shit. I didn’t know the Captain had a girl.”

“Me neither.”

 

*            *            *

 

“You bought him a _ring_?!" 

Piers flinched away from the shrieking female voice on the other end of the receiver and held his cell phone away from his ear. His best friend wasn’t usually so calm when it came to news about his love life. “Yes. And now I can’t take it back.” He sighed, “I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

Janelle shrieked again. These were gleeful shrieks of joy that he knew well. The guy standing next to him at the base cafeteria lineup however couldn’t tell the difference. Piers nodded to his fellow soldier and mouthed the words _she’s crazy_ before turning back to the receiver. The guy raised an eyebrow but left it at that when the server dropped a plateful of Today’s Special on his tray.

“I think you’re brave and wonderful and I think he would be nuts to pass up the opportunity to be your husband.”

Piers flinched at the word _husband_. It sounded so cliché and strange considering they were both men and that sort of thing had never been something he’d thought about for himself. Sure Piers wanted some tangible form of commitment from Chris before they bought a house together, but was he really looking for _marriage_? Maybe it was a dumb idea to buy Chris a ring after all….

“Piers?”

He snapped back to the conversation once his food tray was slapped full of mashed greens and whites. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m still here.”

“He’s going to say yes, Pierson.”

Her confidence was encouraging, “Thanks, Jell.”

“Love you.” She told him, affection thick from the other end.

“Me too.” He hung up, his heart feeling as uncertain as the food he’d been served.

 

*            *            *

 

The house was quiet when Piers returned at the end of the day. Sir Ruffington III, their German Sheppard pup, greeted his daddy at the door with happy yips and a River Dance of excitement that had him ushered quickly out into the yard before he peed on the linoleum. Leaving the bouncing ball of fluff to do his business, Piers shrugged off his jacket and kicked off his boots, scanning the kitchen for telltale signs that his partner was home. Chris’ jacket and shoes were there and his house keys were in their usual spot on the counter.

Piers took in a deep breath. _Here we go_ , he thought to himself, dreading a negative reaction even though he knew the worst thing that could happen was Chris would thank him for the ring and return it to him respectfully. He could refuse his request for commitment. It was within the Captain’s rights. And it wouldn’t change much. Right? Uuughh…It would change everything.

Piers had practically convinced himself coming home was a bad idea when Chris emerged from his office. “You’re home early,” he said casually, placing his empty mug in the sink and rinsing it.

Piers’ heart sped up just being in his presence. What was wrong with him? Chris was his partner for chrissakes! Why was he so nervous all of a sudden?

“You alright?”

“Yep. Just peachy.”

Chris raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “You sure?”

“Very.” What were they doing? This was unnecessarily awkward and neither of them were talking about the ring. Chris wasn’t wearing it on his finger. He wasn’t wearing his tags either. That in itself was disheartening. Piers knew he had left with them on this morning.

“You let Ruff out?” Chris asked, looking around for the puppy.

“Yeah.”

Chris could feel the awkward now too. “Oh. That’s good…”

The rest of the evening progressed as it usually did. Chris didn’t bring up buying a house together and Piers didn’t bring up the ring. Chris returned to the couch to watch the game and Piers hid in the master bedroom with the dog to read. Or at least try to read. He must have re read the same damned page a hundred times in the past hour thinking about how Chris didn’t say anything about the ring. Why didn’t he say anything about the ring?? Ugh.

“Hey.”

Chris’ voice stirred him from his thoughts. His partner leaned against the doorframe, his big arms crossed in front of him casually. “You’ve been staring at that page too long to be reading it. What’s up?”

Damn him and his random intuition. “Nothing,” Piers chuckled, adjusting the pillow beneath his chin and bookmarking his page, “It’s just so interesting I blank out a hundred times a chapter.” As if on cue he yawned. Through watery eyes Piers watched the older man move to his side and sit next to him on the bed. A large warm hand slid up under the back of his shirt and Piers dropped his head forward into the pillow, relinquishing his book in favor of the nice feeling.

“Funny thing happened to me today.”

Piers made a sound through the pillow.

“I found a ring on my tags.”

No sound came through the pillow this time, Piers remained face down on the bed unmoving. Chris continued to rub a hand up and down his back, soothingly. “I think someone likes me.”

He heard Piers snort at that. When the younger lifted his head to say something snarky Chris shoved it back down with hand to the back of his head. Piers laughed through the fabric.

“I’m pretty popular amongst the Boots. New guys seem to take a shining to me. Might have been one of them.”

The hand at the back of his head prevented Piers from actively participating in the conversation and the sniper tapped his fingers, waiting impatiently for his opportunity to say something.

“You had two days to say something, Piers. Now you can wait.” Chris was smiling. “What exactly were you thinking? You figured you’d just slip a ring on my tags and hope I noticed?”

Piers tried to lift his head, but Chris continued to hold him down. He felt the sniper sigh heavily into the pillow. “I didn’t, by the way,” Chris continued, “Someone else noticed it and pointed it out to me. How long were you prepared to wait for me to find it? What if I didn’t notice it for days? _Weeks_? Were you just going to not give me an answer until I found your little gift?”

The questions were adding up now and Piers wiggled free of his partner’s grasp taking in a breath of air. “I knew it wasn’t going to take you long to find it. I was going to answer you about the house thing…” Ruff took it upon himself to jump on the bed at that point and the sizeable German Sheppard pup made a point of standing on Piers’ back with uncut doggy nails, making the sniper wince.

Chris pulled something from his pocket and held it out. The golden band shone bright and new in the lamplight. Piers rolled Ruff off him and sat up behind his lover, who was rolling the ring between his thumb and forefinger thoughtfully. Piers leaned his forehead into the bigger man’s back. “Do you like it?” He whispered.

Chris nodded thoughtfully, examining the engraving on the inside. Claire had playfully nicknamed them _Nivanfield_ when she’d gotten wind of their newfound relationship. It’d stuck. “Yeah. I like it.”

“I didn’t get it because I want- I mean, it’s not that I’m asking you to…” he was grasping at straws now and he wasn’t quite sure why it was suddenly so hard to explain his reasoning behind the gift. He really just wanted to know they were solid together before they jumped into something as binding as buying a house.

Chris reached back to lightly scratch at Piers’ head reassuringly. “Do you like living with me, Piers?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to buy a house together?”

Piers smiled into the older man’s back. Chris had a way of simplifying everything. “Yes.” Now it was his turn to ask the questions: “Will you wear my ring?”

The puppy barked, jealous of the attention his daddies were paying each other instead of him.

Chris leaned back to find Piers’ lips and kiss them. The sniper almost melted into his mouth. When they finally parted Chris answered, _“Yes.”_

The smile Piers gave him was huge.

He ruffled the pup’s fur playfully and knocked him onto his side in the blankets.

“Well alright then. Nivanfield it is.”

Ruff yipped and jumped back to his feet excitedly, his tail a blur of happiness.

It was official: the Nivanfield family was moving.

 

 

 


	3. The Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now it’s Claire’s turn to do some proposing.

oOoOo ONE YEAR LATER oOoOo

 

“Chris I think I’m in trouble.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I, uh…I did something stupid. And I knew once I let it happen I would regret it but…I did it anyway…”

Chris, who had been washing leaves of kale in the sink looked over his shoulder at the sudden confession. It didn’t surprise him that Piers had gotten himself into some kind of trouble, but the almost forlorn way he brought up the topic had his heart jumping a little quicker in expectation of some bad news.

“What did you do?” he asked tentatively, reaching for the dishtowel to dry his hands.

“Well,” Piers approached from behind, a smirk on his youthful face, “I fell for _you_ , Redfield.”

In the time it took Chris to process what Piers was saying, a pair of strong arms grabbed him from behind, squeezing the air out of him unexpectedly and lifting him a good foot off the ground. No small feat for someone of marginally smaller build. He didn’t have to wait long before the younger man ran out of energy and dropped him back to his feet again. He felt Piers pant exaggeratively into the back of his shirt and laughed. He tugged his partner’s arms apart and turned around to kiss him hard on the mouth.

 _“Is that so?”_ he grinned into full lips, taking them again and again in playful repetition until Piers turned away to catch his breath.

The younger laughed and tried to shove him away with a palm to the face.

“Yeah, it was a terrible mistake, I see that now.” Kind of like letting Chris get in this close was a terrible mistake.

Chris wouldn’t let him go. Strong fingers had a solid grip on the belt loops of his khaki shorts and Piers tried in vain to pry them loose with one hand while his other hand continued to hold eager lips at bay.

But Chris tightened his grip, making escape futile, so Piers resorted to distorting his lover’s face by squeezing the man’s cheeks until his lips resembled that of a hungry fish.

 _“You’re in trouble alright--”_ Fish lips informed him, pressing ever closer as Piers’ laughter rose in octave the more he was losing their little battle of strength.

“Who’s hungry?” A singsong female voice interrupted from behind them.

Chris released his hold on Piers, leaving the younger man to stumble backwards from the sudden lack of resistance.

Claire brushed casually past the two lovers, seemingly unaffected by their juvenile display of affection as she reached for the fridge in search of something to eat. It was eight o’clock on a rainy Saturday morning and if her brother wanted to attack his pretty-lipped boyfriend in his own kitchen then who was she to stop him? She was just a humble guest in their home after all. Not to mention the two of them were too cute for words when they thought no one was looking.

“You making breakfast?” Piers asked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t be.

“Sure am.”

Her enthusiasm died pretty quickly when she opened the fridge. “Ugh, why don’t you have anything _good_ to eat?” The fridge was unbearably void of bacon, sausage, butter, cheese or anything else befitting a half decent breakfast. Instead, the shelves were filled with things like almond milk, plain yogurt, leftover quinoa and vegetables. The sight of which made the redhead’s empty stomach very sad.

Shooting Piers a smug smirk that said they were far from finished their little tussle, Chris returned to the sink and pulled the kale leaves from their coldwater bath, shaking them free of excess water before laying them out on paper towel to dry.

“Everything in there _is_ good.”

Claire snorted at that, pulling out a bowl of what appeared to be flaked salmon chunks and promptly replacing it.

“That’s the problem."

Piers flicked on the coffee machine and pulled his mug from the cupboard next to Chris. He made a face at his partner as he did so.

In retaliation, Chris swiped two cold wet hands across Piers’ cheeks while his sister wasn’t looking. Piers ducked away from the unexpected assault making a new face; an unimpressed, wet face.

Claire sighed at her lack of choices and finally decided on toast, pulling a loaf of brown bread from its cold habitat and smacking it down on the counter.

“You can’t possibly enjoy eating this thousand-grain bread.” She looked to Piers, who was now hunched over the counter, leaning on his arms watching with anticipation the steady stream of coffee trickle into his mug. He didn’t seem to hear her.

“Twelve. _Twelve_ -grain bread.” Chris corrected, draining the sink and pulling out the toaster for her. “And it tastes like _bread_ , so quit your complaining.”

Claire scrunched up her nose like she didn’t believe him and pulled out a few slices. “Sure, if you like getting seeds and oats and other flotsam stuck in your teeth. I remember what it was like when you started your healthy eating kick. I feel bad for Piers.”

“There’s much more exciting food in the pantry.” Piers spoke up. His coffee must have finished brewing because he was paying attention again and happily spooning sugar into his cup. “I’ve got cereal and pancake mix or waffles, if you want them. I have to pick up bacon later too, now that I know there’s someone else here to help me eat it.”

Now it was Chris’ turn to make a face. He didn’t say anything about it however and returned to his kale, transferring it to the cutting board and pulling out a knife.

“I’m _so_ happy you eat bacon, Piers. Chris hasn’t touched the stuff in years.”

“Yeah I found that out pretty early on. I fed it to him once when he was distracted and you should have seen his face when he realized what he had in his mouth.” Piers snickered and Claire poked a teasing knuckle into her brother’s ribs.

“Did he ever tell you why he doesn’t eat it?”

 _“Claire.”_ Chris warned, slowing his knife chopping.

Piers looked between the two, “No. But I’m sensing there’s a story here.”

“Not one that’s appropriate over breakfast.”

“Or in the kitchen,” Claire offered with a snicker.

“Or at all.” Chris resumed his chopping.

Piers sipped his coffee contentedly watching the Redfields over the rim of his mug. He liked Claire. Always had. He liked her even more each time she willingly offered valuable insight into her brother’s unusual habits and idiosyncrasies.

For his part, Chris was a pretty closed off guy, only sharing secrets about himself and his past when he was flat out asked about it. Lucky for Chris, Piers was a patient man who respected his partner’s right to keep his personal cards close to his chest.

Most of the time.

Hell, they’d been partners for just over five years now. Actual lovers for just over two, and they were still learning about each other. It was a slow process, sure, but as partners and operatives in the field Piers Nivans and Chris Redfield knew everything they needed to know about each other. They had each others backs no matter what. And that was all that really mattered out there. The personal details, quirks and secrets revealed with time only served to seal their bond further.

Claire pushed her toast down and poured herself a steamy mug of dark roast coffee before joining Piers at the table with it. Piers was staring off into space again, blowing the steam from his coffee.

“You okay?”

Those eyes flicked up to her. “Oh, yeah. Just thinking.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Chris tossed a kale strand at him. It landed cold and wet on Piers’ forearm. “No thinking before noon on a Saturday.”

Piers smiled at the random new house rule and tossed the kale back at Chris who caught it in his mouth on his way to the fridge.

“What day is it today?” Claire tapped painted nails against the side of her mug musically.

 _“Saturday.”_ Both men said in unison.

“I _know_ it’s a _Saturday_. Thank you for that, Captain Obvious- _es._ I meant what day of the month is it.”

Chris opened his mouth but the answer died in his throat when he remembered.

Piers rose from his chair and dumped the rest of his coffee. It was bitter anyway.

“It’s the first.”

Chris caught him by the wrist before he could exit the room. _“Hey.”_ he whispered supportively.

Piers wriggled free. _“Hey,”_ he answered back with a quick smile, avoiding that look of concern. July first was not a date he cared to dwell on.

“July already. Time flies when you’re on vacation.” Claire sighed from the table, unaware of the silent exchange behind her. “I have to go back to work soon and damn if that isn’t depressing….”

 _“You good?”_ Chris questioned his lover silently. If anything he just needed to know Piers could handle another July first. Though he wasn’t infection-free, the younger soldier had been incident-free for a few months now and Chris had promised to do what he could to make sure he stayed that way. Intrusive memories be damned.

Piers combed appreciative fingers through Chris’ dark brown hair. _“I’m good,”_ he reassured him. Those fingers let go before Claire could turn around in her seat and catch on to what they were talking about.

“Let’s go out!” She suggested suddenly. “That way we can all eat what we want and no one has to do the dishes.”

She always was a thinker.

Chris didn’t look opposed to the idea either.

Piers pushed aside the living room curtain. It was raining outside. Not hard, but enough to make him scrunch his nose at the thought of going out in it.

“But it’s raining.”

“Yes it is. You’re not going to melt on the way to the car are you?”

Claire obviously picked up her talent for clever comments from her brother.

“I might.” He joked for her benefit. She didn’t need to know that water made him anxious. That simply feeling it on his skin had become incredibly uncomfortable and often triggered unwanted memories. Ones he had a hard time suppressing; Memories of being horrifically mutated, near death and at the mercy of a terrifying squid monster in the middle of the ocean, for example. It was something Chris was helping him work through, but the last thing he wanted was for Claire to witness him having an anxiety attack. It was bad enough when Chris witnessed it.

“Aw common, you’re sweet but not _that_ sweet. A little water won’t hurt.” Claire countered, grabbing her shoulder-length hair up in a tiny ponytail.

“Yeah…” Despite wanting to for her sake, he couldn’t manage to look happy about the suggestion. He let the curtains fall back into place.

Chris got up to hand him his hooded sweatshirt, holding the fabric up to his chest encouragingly until he accepted it.

“I take it I don’t have a say in this one.”

“Nope,” the Redfields agreed.

 

oOoOo

 

The rain was unsympathetic. It pelted down on them mercilessly as they sprinted the short distance from the Wrangler to the restaurant doors.

“We made it!” Claire chirped once they ducked safely inside the quaint establishment and shook off their coats.

Piers let his hood fall back and felt his hair, checking his carefully primped bangs weren’t too disheveled from the drive over. _“Yay.”_ He snarked sarcastically, trying in vain to shake off the chill that took hold of him the moment they had left the house.

The restaurant was void of customers but the oldies music playing lightly in the background was inviting. The trio had the place to themselves, by the looks of it. The hostess greeted them kindly and settled them into a window booth. Piers sat across from Chris and Claire made a point of siding up next to her brother’s boyfriend snugly, leaving him very little room to inch away.

“My purse needs room too.” She insisted, patting the bag beside her with a grin.

Piers gave her brother a humorous ‘ _help me, I’m trapped’_ look that had Chris smiling and shaking his head at them. “I don’t know what I’d do if the two of you _didn’t_ get along.”

“You’d have to find someone else, I guess.” Claire offered, nudging Piers in the ribs and taking the menu from out his hands.

“Where’s yours?” Piers huffed, snatching it back playfully.

“I don’t know. I don’t have one.” She countered, stealing Chris’ instead.

Chris blinked at the sudden absence of menu in his hands as the waitress arrived to greet them.

Between them they managed to order most of what was on the menu. They made small talk until a cart carrying several plates arrived, each filled with wonderful smelling edible treasures. The food was as quaint as the restaurant. Small, well-presented portions of every breakfast food imaginable littered the table and Claire couldn’t have looked happier at the sight of it all.

Piers looked pretty happy too as he bit into a forkful of golden hashbrown. He smiled with his eyes at Chris who had chosen to tackle the small bowl of fresh fruit first.

“So,” Claire started between bites, “When are you going to tell me about this new house of yours, Chris?”

Chris spat an orange seed onto his plate. “Not much to tell. We haven’t found one yet.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Piers corrected. “We found one we like, we just haven’t put an offer on it yet.”

“What are you waiting for?”

Piers looked to Chris, who exchanged his eaten orange slice for a melon wedge. “It’s a bit more than we expected. I have to talk to our realtor. See if we can’t talk the owner into lowering her asking price. I just haven’t had the time to meet with her…”

The truth was they had found several houses in the area and price range they’d both agreed on but only one house that they were truly drawn to _._ The house they had their sights set on was off base and a little off road – which suited them both just fine; the problem really was monetary. The house was beyond their pre-determined spending limit and now they were at a standstill while they decided what to do next.

“Guys, this is probably the most important thing you can do for each other right now. You shouldn’t wait. What if someone else swoops in and makes a better offer?”

Chris looked to Piers, “Then we keep looking.”

Piers held up his mug in ovation. Any place was good enough for him so long as Chris was there with him. And if it took a few years to find the right place then so be it. He was about to say something along those lines but Claire was already looking to him for some kind of reaction.

“And you’re okay with this?”

He grinned and offered her a strip of bacon instead of answering.

Piers was as bad as Chris that way. Always keeping the details down to a need-to-know basis. “Tell me you aren’t giving up on finding a place.” She tried again, taking the bacon. “I thought you were tired of military housing, Chris.”

“I am. _We are_. We’ll find a place. And if it’s not this one we’ve been looking at then we’ll find another. No biggie.”

 _No biggie?_ Claire couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It’d been almost a year since her boys had started looking for a place to live and if she knew her brother at all he’d keep putting it off in favor of some other high priority and before they knew it another year would pass by….

“Tell me about this house you found. Is it in town?”

Piers perked up, “No, it’s a on a beautiful piece of land about fifteen minutes out. The house itself is a pretty decent size but it’s sitting on a good three acres of unused property so naturally it’s worth a lot more than we were ready to fork up. It’s way bigger than we were looking for but it’s _nice_.” He tapped some pepper into his palm while he spoke and Claire smiled as she watched him sprinkle it onto his grits and stir it in.

“The owner just put a brand new roof on her too so that’d be one less thing to worry about. It’s two stories plus a cellar, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a den for company and a double garage with room to spare. We could fit his truck, my Jeep and a couple bikes in there no problem.” There was excitement in his hazel eyes as he listed off the features of the house, “There’s even a porch on both levels. It’s not bad.”

It wasn’t hard to tell the marksman had his heart set on it already. The way he spoke about it pulled an affectionate smile from Chris, who couldn’t ignore just how much the younger brightened at the topic.

“So how much is it?”

“No, Claire.” Chris warned, pausing his fork on its way to the communal plate of scrambled eggs once he caught onto what she was getting at with all her questions.

Piers, who was about to answer her, clamped up.

“I know where you’re going with this.” The older Redfield eyed the younger.

Claire smacked the table eagerly with a palm, “I can help.”

“No.” Chris repeated firmly.

Piers sat back against the leather seat and marveled at their ability to know what the other was going to say before they said it.

“No, really. I want to help you get your dream home. I’ve got—“

“No you don’t,” Chris cut her off.

“Excuse me, yes I do. You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“I know exactly what you’re going to say. And although I appreciate the thought, the answer’s _no_.”

Claire sat back, momentarily put off by her brother’s audacity to reject her proposition when he hadn’t even heard what it was yet.

“ _What I was going to say is_ , if you are second guessing getting the property you really want because of money, I have a solution.” She raised a palm to silence any objections before they arose, “-And I know you don’t want to hear this but there is something you should know before you shut down my offer to help.”

Chris wasn’t having any of it. He gave up on the eggs, folded his hands around his mug and watched her speak with the unconvinced look he reserved just for her when she had an idea he wasn’t on board with. Despite the look, he waited for her to continue.

Piers waited too, sipping at his own coffee with an open expression. Truthfully he didn’t feel right about accepting help from her either, but he wasn’t about to dash her hopes as quickly as her brother. He’d hear her out first.

“Do you remember that account you set up for me when I moved out to go to university?”

Chris grunted a response. “Of course I do. I set that up so you’d never struggle to make ends meet.”

“I know. And I’ve been saving every penny.”

“ _Saving it?”_ His dispassionate look took on a new form of mild surprise, “For _what?_ ”

“I don’t know! Until now I didn’t have a plan for it.”

“Why haven’t you been spending the money?”

“With the pay grade I’m at with TerraSave I haven’t needed to. I tried to tell you that years ago and you kept sending it to me each month, so I just let that account build and collect interest.”

Exactly how many years had she left the account dormant? That was his next question, but before he could ask it, Claire had his hand in both of hers and was squeezing it excitedly.

“I want to give it back to you.” She announced eagerly, “The money you’ve been sending me for the past decade can finally be put to good use.”

“ _Ten years?_ ”

Piers flinched slightly at the rise in his partner’s voice. Good thing they were alone in the restaurant.

Chris pulled his hand away, shaking his head in disbelief at the news, “That money is yours, Claire. I never meant for you to give any of it back to me."

“I know. That’s what makes this so perfect. We can use it to buy your new house.”

“Claire I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Who’s asking? I’m offering. I want to do this for you guys and I can’t imagine a better way to use the money. Truly.”

Chris looked doubtful. “I gave _you_ that money. It was supposed to go towards your living expenses and anything else _you_ need. I didn’t know you weren’t using it.”

Claire looked indignant, “Would you have stopped sending me money if you knew?”

Oh she was good. Not for the first time Piers found himself admiring her ability to successfully debate with her brother. It was a skill he himself could afford to upgrade.

Chris knew when he was losing. His shoulders seemed to lower in defeat and he tried again for the eggs, shoving a forkful into his mouth with a little more force than necessary. “No,” he admitted after chewing it over.

“So what’s the problem?” Claire asked without missing a beat.

When Chris didn’t provide an answer Piers coughed in interjection, “I’m not exactly poor you know.”

Claire grabbed his hand like a caretaker would an endearing child, _“We know sweetie. But the big kids are having a discussion that doesn’t directly involve you right now. So you just sit there and look pretty, okay?"_

Shocked that she could manage to say that to him without sounding completely condescending, Piers zipped his mouth shut and sat back from the table, gesturing with a hand for them to continue.

Chris looked equally as surprised at his sister’s cheekiness. Piers recognized the telltale tightening of his partner’s jaw and the way he took in his next breath through his nose. The kind of breath one takes when restraining further argument. Had this been anyone else they were dealing with Chris would have left the table by now. That or flipped it first.

Claire was every bit as stubborn as her brother, and so Piers chose to bite into a delicious breakfast sausage instead of getting involved. He knew when to pick his battles.

“I’m standing on my own two feet -and doing quite well- I might add. So you don’t need to worry about me.” Claire continued. "I have a decent nest egg of my own that I’m sitting on.” She assured her older brother, knowing the doubts he was having as he was having them.

When Chris said nothing in response, she continued to pile on the reasoning, recognizing the opportunity in his silence. “Whatever’s in that account is rightfully yours, Chris. Giving it back to you is the least I could do after all you’ve done for me over the years.”

Chris took a slow sip of his coffee, bringing the mug up to his lips purposefully, as though to hide behind it. It was clear he was still a little shell-shocked at the notion that his kid sister wasn’t in need of the money he’d been transferring faithfully into her possession for over a decade.

Claire let her brother consider her offer. She turned her bright blue focus to Piers next.

“I bet you can buy that house outright with the money. Think about how much more freedom you’ll have if you pay it off in full. You’d just have to pay the property tax. No mortgage or monthly payments to worry about. No strained bank accounts, or balancing the books. Not that you boys actually do that - am I right?”

Piers couldn’t meet her gaze. Her offer was too good to be true and it made his insides tighten, though for what reason he couldn’t quite pinpoint. The notion that anyone would want to buy a house for him was hard to process.

“I could never ask for something like that from anyone, let alone you,” he told her truthfully. “And this isn’t my money we’re talking about here, so I’m going to stay out of this.”

“Okay can we just leave our egos at the door on this one? This is my gift to you and you're not going to lose any macho points for taking it, so don't worry.” Claire ignored the way Chris crumpled his napkin and tossed it on the table. She pulled out her handbag and began digging around for something instead.

“I want to transfer the money into your bank account soon so I’ll need your account number—“

“Keep your money, Claire. We’re not taking it.”

“You don’t have a choice, okay? I _have_ the money. You _need_ the money. I _want_ to do this for you. This is happening.” She pulled out a pen and scribbled a few circles onto a napkin. “You boys can buy breakfast.”

 

oOoOo

 

That night Piers couldn’t sleep. Thoughts of money and the house ran wildly through his mind until he couldn’t keep silent about it any longer.

“We can’t let her do it,” he declared to the darkness of the bedroom.

Chris, who had been sleeping lightly next to him, stirred at the sudden sound of his voice.

“What?” he asked groggily, his face half buried in a pillow.

“We can’t let your sister pay for our house.”

Chris grunted at that.

“It’s a little late to take sides _now_ ,” he grumbled semi-coherently, turning away to hug his side of the bed.

Piers scootched in close and wrapped an arm around the bigger man, pulling him into a backward hug. “I’m not _taking sides_ —okay, yes I am. I just don’t think I could live in a place and call it my own if someone else bought it, you know? It’d feel too much like charity.”

Chris smiled in the dark and pressed back into the warm body behind him. _“Charity from Clair-ity,”_ he mused sleepily, making Piers chuckle at the nickname he’d heard him use on Claire a few times before.

“You’re half asleep, aren’t you? I’m sorry.”

Chris squeezed the arm that held him tight, _“S’okay…”_

And Chris was gone again.

Piers sighed into his back once he felt the difference in his lover’s breathing.

“Good talk, Chris.”

 


End file.
